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Friday, May 13, 2011

Rainy Days and Mondays quilt complete

Welcome, visitors from Blogger's Quilt Festival! Thanks for stopping by :-) Today I am going to share my latest finished quilt, which I am calling "Singing in the Rain."It has had several other names during its construction, like "Stupid D#*m Thing" and "IhateyouIhateyou," but, Singing in the Rain it will be!

I started this one a couple months ago, as a birthday present for my 4 year old daughter. She has an April birthday, so, as "April showers bring May flowers," I thought this would be the perfect fabric for her special twin sized quilt. I designed it myself, inspired by one of the fabrics of the line. I wanted it to look like random, swirling, dancing umbrella tops! It has definitely been the most time consuming quilt that I have made in my {relatively} short quilting career. Not so much difficult as tedious...each umbrella top you see here involved the following:cut, sew, cut, press, square, sew, press, square, cut, sew, press, square, cut, press, applique. Times 48. Anyhoo, at that point I was going to name the quilt "The Hangover," you know, for that spinning feeling you get right before you vomit...with all those twirling colors I was seriously doubting how this thing would not come out looking like a dog's breakfast. Thank goodness for white sashing, that tempered it quite a bit! So after another marathon of cut/sew/press etc to add the sashing, I finally had a quilt top! And...I liked it {phew!}.

I had promised myself, this time, to do a SIMPLE BACK. If you click on the icons on the left sidebar of my blog and peruse my finished quilts from this year and last, you will see that I tend to make "reversible" quilts, with the backs more intricate and often preferred to the fronts! Anyways, I did tone it down a bit but couldn't resist adding a couple really special features to this quilt back. All the details have meaning. First off- a strip of orange, my daughter's favorite color. Within the strip, I added some "raindrop" blocks- four, in honor of her fourth birthday. I used the final raindrop as a label, and included this special message:Happy 4th birthday, L-! I wish you a life full of sunshine, but if a little rain should fall, I will always be your umbrella. All my love always, Mom (date, place).

In one of the blocks I included and image of her kitty, which is her very special stuffed toy she has had since a baby (more on that here), floating off with an umbrella. I have to say the kitty thing really did not go well. I had the bright idea to print using my printer directly on the fabric...thought it would work as it was permanent ink, and even sent a sample through the wash to test it before piecing one into the quilt. Then, when all was said and done and I put the quilt through the wash...well, kitty's image basically faded away. Ugh! So, I used transfer paper to add the image to a scrap of white fabric and quickly hand stitched it on top, TERRIBLY, but will need to replace that at some point as well as I don't find those transfers to be super durable. Maybe will send something off to Spoonflower to try and fix? Not. Happy. I was really disappointed in this, as it was to be that special personal addition for my baby girl. At the moment, she adores it how it is and is none the wiser, but my mind continues to whirl about how to fix this little blip.But, all that aside, the quilt has already been lovingly adopted by my daughter and, much like childbirth, memories of what hassles may have occurred during the process are already starting to fade, and I am eager to jump in and start a new one :-) I am actually also planning to make a pattern for this one and some of my other designs that I am often asked about- this is something I will work on over the coming months. I think this quilt would be fun in rainbow solids, don't you?Here are some quilt stats for you:

Finished size: twin (84 inches by 64 inches)Fabrics: Rainy Days and Mondays by Riley Blake, with some from my stash by Amy Butler, Urban Chicks, Barbara Jones, etc and solids from local quilt shop.Design: by meQuilting: stippling by me, by machineBinding: Green dot from Rainy Days, attached by machine to front and hand stitched to back

I love how you keep it real, Kristie :) I think The Hangover would be a fantastic name for this quilt (at least as a secret name that you can call it). I love what you did with the backing, it looks gorgeous and unique, and I'm sure it makes it all the more special for your daughter! I love the umbrella effect of your blocks and I think a pattern is a fantastic idea!!

For heavens sake's I laughed, I cried, I was reminded I need to make a date to see Hangover 2 with my girlfriends. This post has it all!It's a beautiful quilt. You did an amazing job. I love the label and the kitty too! Great work!!

Its really lovely, and you could totally sell that pattern on Etsy! LOVE how special it is for your daughter... my little guy just turned 1 and I look forward to when he actually understands that I made a quilt for him, and will maybe even appreciate it :-)

I LOVE IT!!! You know I've been waiting to see this finished since you first share the fabric you were going to use, and I think you did an absolutely wonderful job. I don't think it looks like a "hangover" at all. It's beautiful! And you used my favorite fabric from the line for the back, along with my favorite color as well! I'm sure your daughter will cherish this for many years to come.

great quilt and fun story. sorry but i keep falling asleep--vicodin and motrin tend to do that to me--had three back teeth pulled wednesday--thought you'd appreciate that as a dentist--which now after my great experiences lately with a great one here in town i'm happy to say i'm not scared to death about anymore. love you quilt and a pattern for it would be great as i'd like to make a circly sort of one someday soon

How perfectly wonderful - it looks exactly like twirling umbrellas! You nailed it! I love the back, and the label. Sorry about the kitty, maybe you could try a pigma pen? They don't wash out, I use them for signing my small quilts.

Oh, what a beautiful, special quilt! I love all the meaningful touches like the four raindrops, and the message on the label is so sweet. That's too bad about the kitty–I would definitely try Spoonflower.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I keep stumbling across dentists in the quiltblog world and it's always fun to find another one! I graduate next Friday and I hope to be starting a part-time job before I have my first baby this September. Very exciting times! I've really enjoyed looking at all your beautiful quilts!

TERMS OF USE - You may use all of my free tutorials for personal or charitable/fundraising purposes. I do not allow items made using my tutorials to be sold for profit. Please feel free to link to any of my projects but DO NOT use pictures of my children. Thank you!